May 2009. Hobart City Council has appointed consultants Pitt and Sherry to design a section of the proposed Battery Point Walkway from Marieville Esplandade to the slipway about 400m to the north, which is owned by the council.

Ald Jeff Briscoe was quoted in the Sunday Tasmanian on 9 May 2010 that the concept design and costings would be done by 1 July. "Stage one is that Pitt and Sherry are going to get the designs for the Sandy Bay end so there will be some kind of structure over the mouth of the Sandy Bay Rivulet. From there to the start of Taylor Brothers, which is the slipway, there will be some kind of suspended structure, presumably some kind of jetty with posts. Then when you get to Taylor Brothers, by the Mariners Cottage, the walkway/cycleway will go up at a slight incline past the Mariners Cottage."

Ken White has produced background information on the saga of a walkway around Battery Point. Click here to view Ken White's summary. Ken was part of the sub-commitee of the Hobart Bicycle Advisory Committee that met on 18 September 2001 to look at progressing the project.

The Mercury newspaper reported on 26 September 2006 that Ald Jeff Briscoe had asked the council to consider writing to the State Government for approval for the feasibility study and requested a report be prepared on what progress has been made in the year since the council agreed to lok at the "steps required to progress the concept of walkway" in October 2007. Both motions were accepted unanimously.

In April 2009 Hobart City Council undertook public consultation on the concept of walkway and put forward three options for providing access around the Battery Point Foreshore.  The options included an elevated boardwalk, a path on top of a retaining wall or a scramble track. Feedback found that over 80% of people who were surveyed or made a submission supported the concept, with a majority identifying a need to make it a quality facility accessible to a variety of people, including people on bikes, parents pushing prams or wheelchair users.

Other examples of waterfront walkway projects
Bayside Council in Melbourne took 3 years to plan and consult on a 680m length of shared path along the foreshore in front of 'Millionaire's Row' in Brighton. Not only did the project involve the construction of a pathway, but also coastal rejuvination including rock groynes, stormwater drain extensions and beach restoration. The pathway was constructed in 2005. 
For project description and photos see Bayside Council website.

Ken White has also produced a newsletter on examples of similar projects in other cities around Australia. Click here to view Ken's Promenade Newsletter.

Brisbane River boardwalk	Geelong Coastal Walk
Melbourne's floating Yarra Trail	Brighton boardwalk in Melbourne